


Lord of the Flies (REDUX)

by socalledxfiles



Category: The X-Files
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-09
Updated: 2015-07-09
Packaged: 2018-04-08 13:06:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4306245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/socalledxfiles/pseuds/socalledxfiles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mulder and Scully investigate a case in which a teenage boy appears to be able to control bugs. </p>
<p>Rewrite of The X-Files' season 9 episode "Lord of the Flies." Read notes at beginning of fic for more info.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lord of the Flies (REDUX)

**Author's Note:**

> By the time I reached season 9 of The X-Files, I was disappointed to say the least, as I'm sure many of you were. However, when I watched 'Lord of the Flies,' it felt like the episodes that I loved so much. The Monster of the Week episodes that Mulder and Scully should be the stars of, that's how it felt. So while I love Reyes and Doggett, I decided to rewrite the episode, but this time with Mulder and Scully. I merely did this for my own enjoyment, but I hope you all enjoy it too. Please, feel free to leave your comments, I'd love to hear them!
> 
> *Please note: 1) I've left out the beginning of the episode, before the X-Files intro plays. I assume that if you're reading this you've already seen the episode that I'm rewriting, and it's a lot of hassle to transcribe that entire beginning. Plus, it looked nicer starting where I did. 2) Many scenes (i.e. the ones with the kids at high school) and lines do not change. I wrote them directly from the episode. I did this so that the episode could stay true to its story line. I was not trying to write an original episode, simply trying to rewrite this one to fit Mulder and Scully as the leading characters.

FBI HEADQUARTERS  
WASHINGTON, D.C.

Scully stepped into the office, taken aback by the large image being projected onto the wall that Mulder was staring at, leaning back in his chair as he did so. The image appeared to be a young man wearing a football helmet, only his face was dented on the left side, resembling that of a rubber Halloween mask that had been pushed inside out. It was shocking to say the least, but Scully didn't find it surprising that the photo had found its way into Mulder's hands.

"What's that?" Scully shrugged out of her coat, laying it over the chair in front of the desk.

"That's a dumb ass." Mulder replied nonchalantly as he switched the slide to another angle of the same photo.

"No reason to insult the dead, Mulder..."

Mulder turned to Scully and smiled, amused by his inside joke. "Bill Wiseman, 16 year old from Ocean County, New Jersey. AKA Captain Dare."

"Captain Dare?" Scully sat down on the edge of Mulder's desk, taking the folder that Mulder handed her.

"Nickname he used for a cable TV show, 'The Dumb Ass Show'."

"Dare I ask?" Scully asked as Mulder popped a tape into his VCR.

"It's exactly what it sounds like. Kids videotaping themselves doing stunts and acting like dumb asses."

"So, 'Captain Dare's' face is the result of one of these stunts?"

"Not hardly." Mulder stepped back from the television as the "Cart of Doom" video began to play. As Winky explained the ramp, pool, and sparklers, Mulder smirked. "It's almost funnier the second time. Until the end at least."

When the video finished, Scully shook her head. "So this stupid stunt got him killed. No surprise about that, Mulder, what's the mystery here?"

Mulder raised an eyebrow. "What's the mystery? Scully, he barely hit the pavement when he fell out of the cart. That fall wasn't enough to do this." He motioned to the projected image on the wall. "Plus he's wearing a helmet."

"It's always possible the helmet could have contributed to the injury... It's even possible that he may have sustained an injury from any stunt he performed earlier and this final fall triggered it to cause this trauma."

"Doesn't the lack of blood surprise you though? Especially with such a large injury. It's almost as if his head was empty."

"It would have to be to voluntarily do these stunts for the sake of a few laughs from classmates." Scully replied. "But you're right, you got me there. What's your theory?"

Mulder pressed rewind on the VCR. He stopped it right as Natalie was being goaded by the crowd to take part in the stunt. "There." Mulder mumbled, more to himself than to Scully, pointing out the only kid in the crowd not cheering. He looked tense rather than excited to see the stunt. Furthermore, he's staring at Natalie rather intensely. 

"What about him, Mulder? He seems to be the only one with any sense."

Mulder shrugged as he played through the scene again, watching the boy.

"This is a bit of a stretch, even for you. He's just standing there. You can't possibly think he did anything."

"I'm not thinking anything yet. It's just curious, that's all. You're supposed to be the only one who wouldn't appreciate this level of art." He smiled. "Come on, let's go check out Captain Dare for ourselves. 

* * *

 

MEDICAL EXAMINER'S UNIT  
OCEAN COUNTY, NEW JERSEY

Mulder and Scully stepped out from the elevator and were immediately confronted by a doctor. 

"Thanks for coming so quickly." He greeted them. 

"You're the medical examiner?" Scully asked. 

He nodded. "I'm Dr. Fountain. And you're from the FBI, right?" 

"Agents Mulder and Scully, yes." Mulder replied as the three of them headed for the autopsy room. 

"I was told you were the experts in this sort of matter." 

"And what sort of matter is that?" Scully raised an eyebrow. 

"You tell me." Dr. Fountain opened the door to the autopsy room, revealing a cart in the middle of the room, body on top covered with a sheet. 

Scully approached the cart, peeling the sheet back to reveal the body. She'd already known what to expect, but regardless of the warning, it wasn't any less surprising to see the boy's head caved in. "What's your explanation?" 

"Well..." Dr. Fountain hesitated. "To tell you the truth, I don't have one." 

"Not even speculation?" Mulder bent down to get a closer look at the body, cringing slightly. 

"All things considered, I'd prefer to stay off the record." Dr. Fountain confessed. 

"What do you mean?" Mulder turned away to face the doctor as Scully pulled the sheet back up over the body for the time being. 

"The kid's parents are suing everyone: the county for making the street too steep, the supermarket he stole from the cart, the company that made the helmet he was wearing..." Fountain shook his head. "I don't want to get sucked into this legal nightmare. You investigate the unexplained, you explain it to me." 

* * *

 

Mulder stood back behind Scully as she slipped on her gloves and goggles. "Bill Wiseman, 16 years old, 150 pounds, 5 feet 8..." 

"Scully, wait, what's that?" Mulder stepped forward and pointed to Bill's eyelids, which appeared to have some sort of movement behind them. 

Scully furrowed her eyebrows and leaned in closer to look. "I don't know..." She reached for the scalpel next to her. As she cut open the eyelid, a swarm of bugs escaped through the slit and surrounded Mulder and Scully. 

"What is this?" Mulder shouted over the buzzing, covering his head with his arms. 

"Flies! We need to catch them before they escape, I need to look at them!" Scully shouted back. She turned and grabbed a jar, handing it to Mulder. "Put them in this!" 

Still covering his face from the flies, Mulder moved the jar through the air in an attempt to force the flies into it. Once he'd caught a majority of them, Mulder held up the jar for Scully to see, the flies buzzing angrily inside. 

* * *

 

Without the interruption of any more wildlife, Scully removed the top of the skull, speechless at what she found. She sat back in her seat and continued to stare at the teenager's head. 

"What is it?" Mulder asked. 

"His ear and naval cavities are filled with insect feces. I can only assume that those flies fed at such a rate that it caused his skull to collapse from the inside. His helmet protected his head when he crashed in the shopping cart. There's not impact trauma whatsoever." 

"The flies killed him, then." 

"I suppose you could say that. What I don't get is what would influence a fly act this way." 

"And who provided the influence." 

"What do you mean who?" 

"Did I say who?" 

Scully pulled off her gloves, shooting him a look. "Mulder, there's no way any person could control insects, and they especially couldn't force them to act so aggressively."

"Well then, tell me what kind of normal fly would crawl into a person's head and feed like these did?" 

"The Musca Vetustissima Walker, AKA the Austrailian Bush Fly." Scully and Mulder looked up at the door to find a man walking in, He oozed arrogance. "It craves protein so much that it will actually, like you said, crawl into the nose, mouth, ears, and eyes just to feed on nutritious blood and moisture. The New Zealand screw-worm fly too often kills its victims in mere moments by burrowing into an open wound or cut." 

"And you are?" Mulder interrupted the man's speech and obvious interest in Scully. He had beamed at her all through his entomology lesson. 

He continued to make eye contact with Scully as he addressed the question. "I'm sorry. Dr. Rocky Bronzino." He reached forward and grabbed Scully's hand, shaking it, his smile widening. Then turning to Mulder, "Rocky Bronzino, field entomological expert at Rutgers University." He threw a sly glance at Scully. "At your service." 

"Neither of the flies you mentioned are indigenous to North America, Dr. Bronzino." Mulder pointed out. 

"No, they're not." 

"So then Dr. Bronzino-" Scully began.

"Rocky." He grinned. The obvious correction to a more familiar name didn't go unnoticed by anyone, considering the same hadn't been offered to Mulder. 

"Right. Rocky. You're not implying that the cause of this death is something foreign, are you?" 

"No, I'm not." He took the jar containing the flies from Mulder, who was still holding it. "This specimen is a garden variety calliphorid. Harmless as a... fly." He chuckled at his own joke.

Less enthused, Mulder prodded him further. "So then, what is it you're implying?" 

"I'm not implying anything, Agent...?"

"Mulder." 

"Agent Mulder. When you told him about the flies, Dr. Fountain knew my scientific expertise would be of help to you, so he sent me here." He turned again to Scully. "I must say, I'm glad he did. You are?" 

"Dr. Bronzino, while I'm sure your knowledge on  _pests_  is vast," Mulder replied, "You should know that this may be a murder that Agent Scully and I are investigating." 

"A murder, you say? Any suspects?" 

Mulder pointed at the jar in Dr. Bronzino's hand. "You're looking at them." 

* * *

 

GARFIELD HIGH SCHOOL   
MANAHAWKIN, NEW JERSEY

Natalie sat alone at the lunch table, picking at her food, not very hungry. She was, as could be expected, still grieving over Bill.

“Natalie Gordon: the lady in Captain Dare’s short life… the last person to see him alive…”

Natalie looked up to find a camera aimed at her and Winky standing next to it.

“Leave me alone, Winky.” She spat at him.

He looked shocked. “Natalie, it’s for the Dumb Ass Memorial Video. Just a few words for our fallen hero, Captain Dare, come on.”

“You want a few words? You’re a jerk! So is your brother for making Bill do all those stupid stunts.” She retorted tearfully.

“Hey, Captain Dare died doing what he loved! Pushing the envelope. Maybe if you weren’t such a-“ Winky stopped his speech when he noticed Natalie wasn’t listening. Instead she was looking past him. He turned to see a boy standing up and starting at him. As soon as Winky made eye contact, however,, the boy sat back down. Winky approached him. “Hey! Freaky-deaky. You want your own memorial? Wanna be in Dumb Ass?” He picked up a plate of cake sitting on the lunch table.

“Just leave her alone.” The boy said, dropping his head to avoid any more eye contact.

“I’m talking to you, freak.” Winky smashed the cake onto the boy’s head, then knocked him backwards off his seat and onto the floor. The lunchroom erupted in laughter.

Almost as soon as the incident happened, the principal called Winky from the lunchroom door. “David Winkle. In my office, right now!”

Winky rolled his eyes, kneeling down next to the boy who was still laying on his back on the ground. “Typical. Lokensgard’s going to have his mommy stick up for him. Baby.”

As Winky walked away, the boy stood up. His mother, who was the principal, called him over with a come hither motion of her finger. He ignored her, however, grabbing his backpack, walking past Natalie.

She nearly said something to him but hesitated, letting him walk away.

* * *

 

In Principal Lokensgard's office, Mulder and Scully stood waiting for David Winkle. 

"How is it we always find ourselves in the big man's office, huh, Scully?" Mulder laughed. 

Scully smiled but before she could reply, the door opened. Principal Lokensgard guided Winky to the chair facing the two agents. "Mr. David Winkle." Winky, slightly confused, took a seat as the principal left, shutting the door behind her.

"So, you're the big dumb ass on campus?" Mulder joked. 

Winky glared at him, obviously not amused. 

"FBI Agents Mulder and Scully. Sky Commander, right?" 

"Yeah, that's right." 

"Pretty cool name." Mulder nodded to himself. "You think the guys in prison will go for it?" 

"What are you talking about?" Winky frowned. 

Scully waved a sheet of paper. "An e-mail from you sent to Fox Network attempting to solicit money for the video of Bill Wiseman's death." 

Winky sat up in the seat, mildly concerned now. "No, I wrote all the networks. Fox was the only one that had any interest." 

"You were the last person to have any physical contact with him..." Scully responded, noticing that Winky had been continually scratching his back through out the conversation. 

"Wait a minute, you think I killed him? You think I killed Captain Dare for money? He was my best friend, why would I do that?" Winky suddenly stood up, scratching aggressively at his back, whining slightly in pain. 

"What's wrong, David, are you-" Before Scully could finish, Winky pulled his shirt up over his head. "Oh god, it's happening to me!" He cried out.

Mulder and Scully looked bewildered to find the words 'DUMB ASS' written across Winky's lower back in angry red welts. 

* * *

 

Scully held the photograph of Winky’s marks, looking it over as Mulder drove them back to meet with the Dr. Bronzino, much to Mulder’s annoyance.

“I don’t know Mulder, it’s odd I’ll admit, but it is a school. Lice aren’t uncommon.”

“Well unless the lice sat themselves down for a lesson or two, I find it hard to believe that they could spell.” Mulder parked the car. “Even if someone was causing them to do it.”

“Again with the some/one/.” Scully undid her seat belt.

Mulder shrugged. “Let’s see if Mr. Universe has anything on his fly buddies.”

* * *

 

LOKENSGARD’S RESIDENCE

“Where have you been, Dylan? Dinner’s been on the table almost an hour, young man.” Dylan was immediately bombarded by his mother as soon as he walked through the front door.

“I’m not hungry.” He replied, heading up the stairs to his room.

“Well, then, you sit down here until you get hungry.” She called up to him. “I have something to talk to you about, Dylan.”

Still brooding over the cake incident earlier, Dylan ignored his mother, closing the door to his room behind him. He plopped down on his bed and switched on the stereo to Syd Barrett, letting the music wash over him.

_It’s no good trying to place your hand where I can’t see…_

Dylan pulled the photograph of Natalie out from under his pillow.

_I understand that you’re different from me._

He felt like crying in shame and embarrassment as he stared at the photo.

“Dylan?” His mother knocked on the door.

_I can tell that you can’t be what you pretend…_

Dylan ignored the knocking, turning up the radio, then closed his eyes, drowning himself in the darkness that the insects provided as they swarmed over his window. 

* * *

 

MEDICAL EXAMINER’S UNIT

“Welcome back,” Dr. Bronzino grinned, specifically at Scully, looking up from the microscope he was using.

Mulder loudly slapped the folder he was carrying down on a table. “Did you find anything?”

Bronzino’s smile faded. “Actually yes. All the flies you caught turned out to be female.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning,” Scully interjected, “the chances of all those flies being female is low, implying that there was a reason for the attack. Perhaps a behavioral reason.”

“Ah, smart and attractive.” Bronzino purred. “You’re right about that. I have one of the flies under the microscope now if you’d like to take a look for yourself. I have some other work I have to take care of. If you need any more assistance, don’t hesitate to call me.”

Once he left, Mulder opened the file he’d brought in. “I think I’ve figured it out, Scully. Those lady flies heard about ol’ Rocky and were willing to do anything to meet the biggest load in New Jersey.” He looked up at Scully with a smile as she sat down at the microscope.

“Something biological is going on here. Whether hormonal or chemical, something is causing these bugs to attack. First the flies, now the lice…” She mused to herself.

“Which brings me back to a someone. I think you’re right about this being a matter of biology, but I think someone is directing that biology.”

“How does one direct bugs, Mulder?”

“I think I have one idea.” Mulder held up a photograph from his folder of the crowd of teenagers in the Dumb Ass video.

Scully looked over at the photo. “You think all those kids had something to do with it?”

“Just one.” Mulder pointed out one of the boys in the photo. “This is the boy I noticed in the video back at Washington and I decided to get a picture of him. I asked about him at the school when we went to see the Sky Commander. His name’s Dylan Lokensgard. He’s been at every Dumb Ass stunt and apparently got into a fight with Winkle just before we witnessed the lice attack. I think he’s worth looking into.” 

* * *

 

LOKENSGARD RESIDENCE

Dylan looked into the mirror running his hand along his jaw and neck. When the doorbell suddenly rang he left his room and looked over the stair banister at the front door. Trying to listen in, he heard his mother answer the door.

“It’s just not a good time right now. He’s unable to talk.”

As she closed the door, Mrs. Lokensgard noticed Dylan at the top of the stairs. He ran back into his room and looked out the window, noticing that Natalie, now walking back down the sidewalk, was the visitor who had wanted to see him. He quickly grabbed his jacket and backpack as his mother began knocking at the door. “Dylan? I want to have a word with you.”

Dylan opened up his window and began to climb out.

“Dylan, honey, can you come out here?”

Just as he made it out, his mother intercepted him before he could even leave the front yard.

“Where are you going?” She demanded.

“School.” He tried to be as nonchalant as possible.

“I know where you’re going.”

He looked down at the ground. “Well, what did Natalie want?” He tried.

She put her hands on her hips as she began to lecture him. “You stay away from her. She’s no good for you, Dylan. She’ll only get you in trouble.”  

“We’ve been friends since we were kids.” He objected angrily.

“But you’re not kids anymore.” She reminded him. “Which is why we need to talk.”

As he pushed past her, she continued to lecture. “You’re going through changes.” Dylan grabbed his bike and climbed on. “Your body is going through changes, Dylan.”

Before taking off, he turned back to her, “You don’t understand anything. I don’t want to talk to you. I wish dad was still here. You don’t know anything about me.” He pedaled off to school.

“Honey, I want what’s best for you! Dylan! Come back!” She called out. 

* * *

 

“Beelzebub.”

Scully looked up from the laptop sitting in the back of the car that she, Mulder, and Dr. Bronzino had driven out to an empty road. “What?”

“You know, from the New Testament. Also known as the lord of the flies.” Mulder popped another sunflower seed into his mouth. “Could supposedly control flies.”

“You’re not suggesting that a… demon did this, are you Agent Mulder?” Dr. Bronzino smirked.

“No, just thinking out loud.” Mulder dumped some more seeds into his hand, putting the package back in his pocket.

“Even if you were suggesting that, Mulder,” Scully replied, “That was really only a command over disease. You know, the flies invade corpses, and spread disease from the dead to the living. And anyway, we’ve also had the lice incident, remember?”

Mulder shrugged. “It’s completely plausible to think that someone could have the ability to command insects to perform acts similar to that. For example, a person could direct flies to attack someone, if the person knew how to communicate.”

“Not that plausible, Mulder.”

“Don’t entertain his ridiculous notions, Dr. Scully. I think you and I, both qualified scientists,” He threw a condescending smile in Mulder’s direction, “know that the incidents that have taken place are the result of pheromones. They’re heavy in the air. Nature’s natural attractants. Driving the insect world to go forth and pollinate.”

“That may very well be the case, Doctor…” Scully began.

“Rocky.”

“Rocky. But, according to this device there isn’t a single pheromone to be found out here.” Scully gestured to the machine connected to the laptop.

“Well that can’t be right. The bio-sensor we use has an actual fly antennae over which the pheromones pass. But I modified the EAG to measure in pictograms, which makes it sensitive to traces a mile in any direction.”

“Better luck next time, Rocky.” Mulder taunted.

“But I’m still not sure why you think that pheromones might cause an otherwise harmless fly to attack a human so violently.” Scully replied.

“Bugs are small-minded creatures, therefore very predictable."

“No wonder you took up entomology. Always pick a profession you can relate to.” Mulder said.

Ignoring Mulder, Bronzino continued. “They don’t have moods, per se. They react to circumstance and stimuli as they have been doing for millennia.”

“So what do you suppose they’re reacting to out here, then?” Scully was still puzzled.

“Perhaps the bugs are being driven crazy with desire somehow. You know, they say we humans respond to pheromones, too.”

Scully raised an eyebrow. “I tend to agree with that, yeah.”

Bronzino tilted his head back as if pondering. “’Women’s Dormitory Syndrome.’ It’s believed that pheromones are the reason that women who live together share the same menstrual cycle.”

Mulder nodded. “You know, I think I read something about this exact thing in  _Penthouse_  once.”

Before anyone could reply, the bio-sensor began to beep. “Big hit!” Bronzino exclaimed.

“What is it?” Mulder asked.

“A high concentration of c-13 calliphorone. Insect pheromones.”

The three of them looked up at the sky, expecting some sort of insect swarm to pass over. As Mulder searched the sky, the folder he’d been holding under his arm fell. Bending down to pick up the contents of the folder, Mulder noticed a boy on a bike ride by as the beeping from the bio-sensor increased. Mulder looked down at the photographs from the Dumb Ass video he’d taken earlier, the ones of the crowd in which that very boy had been front and center. As the boy pedaled away, the beeping decreased.

“Maybe your bio-sensor doesn’t work?” Scully offered, still looking at the sky..

Mulder stood up, still staring at his photographs. “Or it picked up something else.”

* * *

 

“Natalie!” Dylan shouted as Natalie got out of her car in the school parking lot. She turned and jumped out of the way just as Dylan zoomed past her on his bike and right into the bushes.

“Dylan? Are you alright?” Natalie peeked into the bushes as Dylan pulled himself out. “Are you alright?” She asked again.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“What about your bike?” She asked as he walked away.

“Um, I’ll get it later.” He shrugged.

Natalie picked up her pace to catch up with Dylan. “I came by your house to see you.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah… you’re mom made it sound like there was something wrong with you.”

“Me? I’m fine. What uh… what did you want?”

Natalie sighed. “I wanted to apologize about what happened yesterday in the cafeteria. Winky can be such a jerk.” She scowled.

“I was just worried about you.” He replied. Natalie stopped when he said this. Dylan turned to look at her, worried he’d done something wrong. “W-w-what’d I say?”

“Nothing.” Natalie teared up. “No one understands. My mom and dad think it’s just going to… go away… what I’m feeling…”

“About Bill?”

Natalie nodded. “I wish I could just turn back time so we could just… make everything go away and start all over again.”

“I know. Like when we were kids.” He gave a nervous laugh.

“Yeah. Remember the night we played hide-and-seek on your street?” Natalie sniffed but smiled.

“Manhunt.”

“We hid in the tree together.”

“Our names are still carved in it.”

The two looked at each other shyly and awkwardly as the bell rang.

“I’m going to get marked late.” Natalie reluctantly pulled herself away from Dylan and walked alone to class.

“Dylan Lokensgard?”

Interrupted from watching Natalie walk away, Dylan turned to look for the source of the call.

“Can you come with us, Dylan?”

* * *

 

“Why are you showing me this?” Dylan, sitting in front of the television in Principal Lokensgard’s office, looked up at Mulder. The Dumb Ass clip from the day Bill died was playing.

“You were there the day the accident took place weren’t you?” Scully asked him, arms crossed, still skeptical as to the questioning of this witness simply because he wasn’t encouraging the stunt.

“Yeah, I was there.”

“Did you hear what happened to him? To Captain Dare?” Mulder handed Dylan a tissue when he saw the sweat begin to drip down his face. Dylan took the tissue, wiping off his face, placing it on the desk next to him when he finished.

“Yeah, he was killed by bugs.”

“Seems odd, doesn’t it?”

“Of course.”

“Are you a fan of the show?” Mulder asked.

“No.”

“But you knew the kids in it. You showed up when they were filming it, even though you didn’t like the show?”

“Yeah I know them but-“

“What’s going on in here?” Principal Lokensgard walked in, unaware of the interrogation at hand.

“We’re talking to Dylan, Mrs. Lok-” Scully started.

“Oh no, you’re not. No one interrogates my son in my office without my permission. Who let you in here? What is it you think he’s done? What are you accusing him of?”

“He was at the scene of Bill Wiseman’s death, we just wanted to ask what he saw. We’re trying to get as much information as possible.” Scully tried to calm Principal Lokensgard, who was now fuming.

“A lot of kids were at the scene. Dylan hasn’t done anything wrong, he’s not part of that crowd of kids. He-“

“Scully!” Mulder grabbed Scully’s shoulder, turning her to look at Dylan, now covered in flies.

* * *

 

Mulder approached Scully, who was checking Dylan for anything unusual. Meanwhile, men in decontamination suits were marching into the school. Scully motioned to another EMT to tend to Dylan when she noticed Mulder waiting to talk to her.

“I don’t understand it. He was covered in flies, and I couldn’t find a single bite on him. He’s virtually untouched.” Scully reported.

“Did you see how they swarmed him? Almost as if they were summoned to him.”

“Mulder, he looked terrified. I can promise you he didn’t ask for that.”

“He was staging it. He caused the bugs to allegedly attack him because we were questioning him about why he was at the crime scene. I don’t know a lot of people who would sit so still like that unless they wanted the bugs to stay.” Mulder watched as Principal Lokensgard urged Dylan into their car, the EMT having found the same results as Scully. Mulder continued to watch as Winky and one of his friends stared down Dylan.

“Mulder, let that theory go, it’s preposterous. Maybe Dr. Bronzino was right about the pheromones, no matter how suggestive his reasoning was for bringing them up. His machine was acting up but maybe it was because of whatever’s going on.” She followed Mulder’s gaze to see Dylan in the car being driven away by his mother. “I have a feeling we’re not going to get any more out of him.”

“We don’t need to get anymore, I have all I need.” Mulder pulled the tissue Dylan had used out of his pocket. “Maybe it is pheromones, but we can check if they’re coming from Dylan.”

* * *

 

“I’ve got a reading here that’s going right off the scale. Holy Toledo! We’ve got c-13 calliphorone coming out the ying yang!” Bronzino exclaimed over the sound of his bio-sensor’s rapid beeping. “Where did you find this?”

“A teenage boy.” Mulder replied.

“A boy… is secreting bug pheromones? That can’t be right. Dr. Scully, I think your partner here is a little confused…”

“I’m afraid he’s telling the truth. I saw the boy use the tissue myself.”

“This is impossible.” Bronzino shook his head. “A boy is a boy, a bug is a bug. You can’t have it both ways.”

“The boy is 16, yes? So maybe his body chemistry is off. It’s going crazy. His raging teenage hormones are attracting all these insects.” Scully theorized.

“Ah yes, I remember that tender age when I couldn’t keep the bugs off of me, Scully. What was it for you? Butterflies?”

Scully sighed, “I don’t know. This doesn’t make any sense. The only bugs a teenage boy should be attracting are the ones circling his gym socks.”

“Maybe it’s more than just body chemistry. Dylan may be using these bugs to act out.” Mulder pointed out. “Remember that girl we saw him talking to?”

“The one with him when we showed up to question him? Are you saying he’s trying to catch her attention?”

“I don’t know, but I think we should question her.” Mulder pulled out the crowd photo from the Dumb Ass video again. “She seemed to be the reason Dylan was so bothered at the time of the video .”

* * *

 

Dylan laid back in bed, staring at the class photo of Natalie yet again.

_Well, oh baby, my hair’s on end about you, I wouldn’t see you and I love to._ As usual, Syd Barrett played on his radio.

Just as he was getting lost in the photo of Natalie, Dylan heard a car. He put the picture back under his pillow, looking out his window to find none other than the real Natalie, her car parked in the street in front of his house.

Dylan opened the window. “Natalie?”

“Dylan?” Natalie looked up through the trees, seeing Dylan, his head sticking out the window.

“What are you doing?” He asked, confused.

“I need to talk to you Dylan.”

He shushed her, answering nervously. “You have to be quiet. It’s my mom, she’s going to hear you.”

Natalie didn’t seem to care. “I’m coming up!” She began to climb up the trellis.

“What! No!” Dylan left the window to check out into the hallway, making sure the coast was clear for Natalie.

When she reached the window, Dylan helped her climb through. “I needed to see you,” She said, smiling. She looked around his room. “I haven’t been here in so long.”

“Since 4th grade.” Dylan nodded. “After school. And it was a Wednesday in April. ‘A dream in a mist of gray.’ That’s from a Syd Barrett song.”

“How do you know all this?” Natalie smiled, impressed.

“My dad told me. Syd Barrett, he was in the band Pink Floyd.” Dylan nodded at his Barrett posters on the wall. “He was like this brilliant guy that nobody understood.”

“Kind of like you?”

“Me?” Dylan was surprised.

Natalie looked down. “I never said I was sorry when your dad disappeared. I never said a lot of things. So I want to say them now. I know you’ve always cared about me. We’ve grown apart, but I haven’t forgotten you. And after we talked this morning at school I realized… how special you really are to me.” Natalie looked slightly embarrassed but she certainly looked to be telling the truth.  

Dylan’s mouth hung open. “I can’t believe this.” He said it more to himself than to her.

Natalie continued, “After what happened to Bill… I realized how important it is to have someone who understands you and… I wanted to do this.” She leaned in, leaving a small kiss on Dylan’s lips.

More surprised than ever, Dylan swallowed hard. “That… that was amazing.”

Natalie smiled, going back in for another kiss, this time harder. Just as Dylan was getting into the moment, Natalie whimpered and pulled away, her mouth bleeding. “What was that?” She askee frantically.

“What was what?” Dylan looked nervous but not surprised.

“Your… your… your mouth, tongue. There’s something wrong with you.” She held her hand over her mouth as blood continued to gush from it.

“No don’t say that, please.”

She began to cry, “I have to go.” Not caring if she got caught, she ran through the bedroom door and out of the house.

Dylan followed her out of the house, calling to her. “Natalie listen to me, please!” He made it out to the middle of the street before she had driven too far away to catch. He grit his teeth, angry with himself, when suddenly a car pulled up behind him.

“Hey, bug boy! How about we go for a little buzz around the block?”

Dylan turned around to find Winky and a group of his friends approaching him, smirking smugly.

* * *

 

Winky turned around to look at Dylan in the back seat of the car. “So, Lokensgard. How did you do it huh? How’d you kill him?”

Dylan feigned innocence. “I thought bugs killed Captain Dare.”

“Yeah, bugs who do what you say!” Winky spat.

“You wanna know how I did it?” Dylan decided enough was enough with these people. “I’ll show you, but maybe you should get your camera ready.”

Unsure of the situation he’d started, Winky stared at him. “What are you talking about?”

“I just have to open my mouth.” He opened his mouth, wider than the average person could, to reveal insect mandibles. Everyone in the car began to panic when they saw what Dylan could do. A web like substance shot from his mouth, covering the other boys in the car, causing the driver to panic. Not being able to see the road due to the webbing covering him, the driver swerved the car, which hit a curb and flipped over.

* * *

 

Mulder and Bronzino made their way up the Lokensgard's walk way. The door was already partly open, so the two entered slowly with Mulder shining his flashlight around the dark room. "Dylan? Mrs. Lokensgard?" He called out. When no one answered, they proceeded further into the house. The moment the two stepped into the entryway of the house, Bronzino's bio-sensor began to beep. 

"I'm getting a reading here. There's trace levels in the house." 

Assured that no one is home, Mulder searched the front of the house, Bronzino right behind him. 

"This is so exciting. I've never done anything like this before. Entomology is not always as exciting as you might think." 

"Well there goes my plan for a career change." Mulder looked over his shoulder at Bronzino, who was smiling and trembling slightly in excitement. "Just don't get too worked up, I wouldn't want to have to explain what happened to the carpet when you got too excited." 

Bronzino furrowed his eyebrows, not quite catching on, but moving on regardless. "So about Agent Scully. Are you two exclusive?" 

"Excuse me?" 

"I know you're partners, but are you  _partners_?" 

Mulder raised an eyebrow. "No, we're not." 

"Good to hear. She needs a scientist in her life. A fellow doctor, another great mind. You think she'd be interested in me?" 

"I'm not sure collecting bugs in the sunset is her idea of a good time."

"One never knows, Agent Mulder." 

Mulder looked at Bronzino with a look of feigned interest. "Tell you what. You keep looking around downstairs while I search upstairs, and I'll put a good word in for you with Scully." 

Bronzino grinned. "Alright." 

* * *

 

Scully jogged towards the overturned car and the sound of the kids yelling out for help. She knelt down, shining her flashlight into the car. "Are you boys hurt?" She tried not to make her confusion and surprise at the boys wrapped in webbing like a spider's prey obvious. She then recognized the boy in the passenger seat. "David Winkle?"

"Yeah, yeah! You're that FBI agent! Help us out of here!" 

"What happened here? Not another stunt I'm assuming." 

"Dylan Lokensgard. He attacked us." 

"He did this to you?"

"He's a freakin' bug. He spit this web out of his  _mouth_. He had a  _bug mouth_. He chewed his way out the back window." 

Scully pointed her flashlight at the back window, or rather, where the back window used to be.

* * *

 

As Mulder searched Dylan's room, he found a picture of Natalie among the Syd Barrett posters, CDs, and shirts thrown around the room, sealing the deal on his belief that Natalie had something to do with this case. Suddenly, his phone rang while he was searching the rest of the room."Mulder." He answered.

"Mulder, it's me. I found David Winkle among some other boys from the Dumb Ass video. Their car flipped after they were attacked by Dylan Lokensgard. They claim he's a bug and that he covered them in web before  _chewing_ his way through the rear window." 

"I'm at the Lokensgard's house now. That girl we saw him with? Natalie? I found her picture in his room. I think she's the key to his rampage and I think we need to get to her before he does."

"I'll call someone to get these kids out of here and I'll check it out." Scully responded. 

"I'll meet you there." Mulder hung up, running into Bronzino as he headed downstairs. 

"C-13 calliphorone. I'm getting a stiff reading from upstairs." Bronzino said.

"The kid we got the tissue from, his room is up there. Unfortunately he's not in it." Mulder passed Bronzino, heading for the front door. 

"Where are you going?" Bronzino asked worriedly. 

"I have to go meet Scully and find the kid." 

The bio-sensor began to beep rapidly. 

"I'm sure you want to stay here." Mulder pointed to the sensor. "Keep looking around. You have Scully's number if you need us." 

* * *

 

Scully opened the door to Natalie's bedroom to find her laying on her bed, her arms wrapped around herself. She looked upset. 

"Natalie?" 

"Whoever you are, leave me alone." 

"I'm Agent Scully with the FBI. I... know about Dylan Lokensgard. And I think you're in danger. I need your help to find him, Natalie." 

"Don't say that name around me!" Natalie spat angrily. "He kissed me! There was something in his mouth! He's not normal!" 

"He's lost all control. He attacked David Winkle and some other kids." 

Natalie sat up in bed, concern washing over her previously enraged features. "He attacked Winky?" 

"They're all okay. But if you don't help me, the next person may not be so lucky." 

Natalie considered Scully's statement, torn. She was scared of Dylan, but she didn't want him to hurt anyone like he had hurt her, or worse than her. Once she made up her mind, she nodded to Scully and stood up, then gasped when she saw what was standing in her doorway. Scully turned to see Dylan standing in the shadows.

"Why did you run from me?" He asked softly. 

Natalie furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "What is wrong with you?" 

"I'm different Natalie. Isn't that what you wanted? Somebody different from Bill and Winky?" Dylan reminded her, as if he didn't understand how his situation was so outrageous.

"I didn't want this! You killed Bill." 

"To keep  _you_ from being killed. And now you're coming with me." He stepped closer and held his hand out to Natalie, but Scully stepped in front of her.

"I'm armed." Scully announced as she reached for her weapon. "Don't move, Dylan."

* * *

 

 Mrs. Lokensgard stepped out to the top of staircase, looking down to see Dylan standing with Natalie at the front door.

"Don't try to stop me. That little talk you wanted to have with me? It'll have to wait." Dylan told her.

"Where do you think you're going?" His mother demanded. 

"Me and Natalie are going. I'll be taking the car." Natalie looked frightened at the thought. 

"You'll be doing nothing of the sort." 

"You don't want to cross me mom. I'm not some kid everybody can kick around anymore." 

His mother huffed. "You think I don't know what you are? It's what I've been trying to tell you. To save you from what you are about to do. These are the things I couldn't tell you. The things I couldn't tell your father." 

Natalie tensed as she began to panic, realizing that whatever Dylan was, his mother was the same. 

"You're not like the other kids. You never will be." 

* * *

 

"Scully!" Mulder made his way up the stairs towards Natalie Gordon's bedroom. "Scully, are you here?" Outside Natalie's bedroom door, which was partially closed, Mulder stopped. "Natalie?" He called through the crack in the door. Instead of a reply from Natalie or Scully, he heard a muffled scream. "Natalie?" Mulder pushed the door open to find one of the bedroom walls covered in a layer of webbing and a webbed sack underneath it. He ran to the wall and began pulling on the web, ripping it open. "Natalie?" Upon pulling back the first layer of web he noticed it wasn't Natalie. "Scully! Scully, are you alright?" He ripped open the web covering her face. "What happened? Are you alright? Where's Dylan and Natalie?" 

Scully worked her way out of the sac as Mulder ripped it open. "I don't... I don't believe... Dylan did this, he..." Scully wiped at the excess web on her body as she stepped away from the wall. "He took Natalie, we have to find her. We have to check Dylan's house, I'm sure he took her there." 

"I left Bronzino at Dylan's house." Mulder remembered. "He doesn't have any idea what's going on." 

Scully pulled out her phone. "We have to warn him." She dialed his number but not to her surprise, no one answered. 

* * *

 

Mulder and Scully approached the Lokensgard's house, their weapons and flashlights drawn. The door was still partially open from earlier. Hearing a sound, the two agents jumped, turning and pointing their flashlights to a chair in the living, in which Natalie was sitting. She sobbed, worried that the Lokensgards had returned until she realized it wasn't them. 

Mulder approached her. "Where are they?" 

Natalie shook her head, whimpering and sobbing, too in shock to answer. 

"Natalie, you have to tell me!" 

All Natalie could manage to do was continue to cry and point upstairs. 

"Stay here." Mulder told her. He and Scully raised their weapons, heading upstairs. 

Up in the attic, Mulder and Scully found several web sacs covering the walls, similar to what Scully had been trapped in. A moan escaped from one of them.

"Dr. Bronzino?" Scully called. 

"Help... me..." One of webbings answered. 

Scully's eyes widened as she approached the web sack where the noise had come from. She began to peel away at the web finding Dr. Bronzino nearly upside down glued to the wall.

"You've saved my life, Dr. Scully." Even after being attacked by the Lokensgards, Bronzino still had it in him to attempt to be charming. "However can I repay you?" Scully continued to pull at the web to help him off the wall. "I had some trouble breathing up here. I assume you can do CPR?" He grinned.

Scully looked over her shoulder with a look of digust, seeing Mulder holding back a laugh.

* * *

 

Having removed the rest of the victims from the walls of the Lokensgards' attic and having no luck finding Dylan and his mother, Scully sits down at her computer to write up her report. 

Somewhere while Scully writes, Dylan and his mother are driving far away, much to the dissatisfaction of Dylan. Back at her house, Natalie is surprised to find fireflies delivering the message "I LOVE YOU" from where ever Dylan is. She smiles despite herself. 

* * *

 

_Four more bodies were found in the Lokensgard attic, including that of Michael Lokensgard, Dylan's father, long reported missing._

_It now appears that he, like the others, fell victim to Dylan's mother who, in Dr. Rocky Bronzino's expert opinion, was neither human nor insect, but something in between. A biological anomaly, whose differences from the rest of humanity could be hidden only for so long._

_However strong Dylan Lokensgard's yearning to fit in, to win acceptance, to love and to be loved, he could not defeat the unseen forces which direct behavior._

In the motel room next to Scully's, Mulder lays back in bed, replaying what he had seen that day in Dylan's room. Much to his distaste, he found Dylan was not so different from himself. 

_In the struggle between our desire to determine who and what we will be and the identity which biology defines for us, there can only be one outcome._

Mulder thinks of the posters that adorned Dylan's bedroom, posters that reminded Dylan that to be different could be okay. Mulder's own poster that reminded him of his differences from the rest of the FBI, from much of the world, was back home in Washington on his office wall.

_But even in victory, there are forces biology can not defeat, the stirring of the soul, the mysteries of desire... the simple truth that the heart wants what the heart wants._

Off on the empty streets in the middle of nowhere, Dylan retrieves the photo of Natalie he managed to grab before leaving. At the same time, Mulder slips a photo of Samantha back into his suitcase. 


End file.
